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Snails

Learn a little about snails and enjoy our collection of snail-themed colouring pages, puzzles and printables for kids!

Learn about Snails

There are three groups of snails: land snails, sea snails and freshwater snails. There are thought to be something like 85,000 different types of snails altogether!

The snail belongs to the mollusc family. A snail's body is soft and moist and slimy, and is protected by a shell, which can vary in shape and size. When disturbed, snails pull back back into their shell to hide. Land snails come out at night or on cloudy days - they don't like sunshine as it dries them out.

Snails move on their one flat "foot" underneath the body, by contracting and expanding the muscles. Movement is helped by a slippery excretion of mucus which is made by the foot, and you can often see this "snail trail" across the garden. The slippery mucus means that snails can move along sharp surfaces and stones without hurting their soft bodies. But the process is slow, and land snails are one of the slowest creatures in the world. That is why we have expressions like "snail mail" and "moving at a snail's pace".

Land snails are mainly herbivore, eating leaves and stems of crops and regarded as a pest by farmers and gardeners!

Land snails have two pairs of tentacles, one large and one small. The large pair has a pair of eyes on the very top, which don't see very well but help the snail distinguish between light and dark. The small pair are used for smelling and feeling.

Fun fact: The largest land snail, the giant African snail, can grow to 38cm (15 inches) and weigh up to 1kg (2lbs). But that is nothing compared to the largest sea snail, which can grow to 90cm (35 inches) and weigh up to 18kg (40lbs)!

These cute snail bookmarks put a smile on my face every time I see them – and I think they might encourage the kids to get on with their reading! Cut them out and put them into a book so that a little head pops over the top of the page…

Find out the colour of the snail's shell by working out the sums and following the key provided to colour in the picture. We've got 6 versions to choose from below (2 addition, 2 subtraction, 2 multiplication).

This snail template is so simple to cut out and use but instantly recognisable. It makes a great shape for displays and crafts and looks particularly effective with a number of coloured snails squelching along in a straight line!

They might be the gardener's enemy but there is something appealing about an animal that carries its home on its back. Children can learn more about snails by doing their research and filling in the sections on this snail worksheet.